


Duscur Cuisine

by RoseJennison



Series: Fire Emblem: Three Houses- Borrowerverse [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, The Borrowers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Borrowers Fusion, Ashe is a precious cinnamon roll, Ashe still has his family, Borrower Ashe, Dedue is a gentle giant, Dedue is a great cook, Duscur food, Fluff, Food, G/T, Gen, Tiny Ashe, it brings people together, reference to support conversations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:23:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22810153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseJennison/pseuds/RoseJennison
Summary: Ashe is a borrower living within the walls of Garreg Mach Monastery. He is lured to the kitchen by a delicious new smell, and gets more than he bargained for when trying to discover its source. (This includes making a new friend)
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert & Dedue Molinaro, Mercedes von Matritz & Dedue Molinaro
Series: Fire Emblem: Three Houses- Borrowerverse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1615615
Comments: 5
Kudos: 41





	Duscur Cuisine

Of all the borrowers that lived in the walls and grounds of Garreg Mach Monastery there were few that saw humans regularly. The ones that went out went did so when most of the humans were sleeping, which resulted in them seeing humans rarely, and the majority stayed within the bounds of their own communities and hardly ever saw one at all. Ashe was one of the exceptions to this rule. 

The Ubert family had a very important job within the borrower community; they were responsible for preparing and keeping track of the community food supply. A number of different borrowers gathered the food, but it was Ashe's family that did the cooking and told those borrowers what they needed to get. Ashe knew that, as his parents got older, he would take on more and more responsibility in the kitchen, but for now he had a different job. He had to keep an eye on the human's kitchen. 

The offerings that the human cooks offered up were definitely helpful, and Ashe was grateful for them. Those that went out borrowing tended to use them as a quick meal before heading out, and the offerings worked great for that, but they didn't cover everyone. Besides, who wanted to live everyday off of someone else's leftovers? Not Ashe, that was for certain. They needed base ingredients to make their own meals, otherwise no one would get all the proper nutrients. 

So it was Ashe's job to keep an eye on the human's kitchen and pantry. He'd find a place to hide and watch as shipments came in, or explore the pantry after everyone had left. His people weren't supposed to be noticed after all, and if they went about borrowing things that were running low or had just been opened then someone might start to notice. Plus, if the monastery was out of something then they would have to do without it too. 

Ashe sometimes got up early enough, or stayed up late enough, to watch the humans cook. He'd be in charge of the kitchen's one day, and he wanted to know about as many recipes as possible for when that happened. Not that borrowers didn't come up with their own recipes, his father had invented several and Ashe had watched and learned how to make them, but he was hoping to add some more diversity. So he'd go to his hiding place on top of a tall cabinet and watch as the staff or students cooked and baked, hoping for some new inspiration.

This is why Ashe found himself so drawn in when, on his way to check on the pantry, he caught a new smell coming from the kitchen. The kitchen would have already been shut down by this time of the day, which made it odd that he should be smelling something cooking now. 

And what a smell it was! Ashe had lived at the monastery his whole life, and he'd never smelled this particular blend of spices before. Was one of the foreign students cooking? If so, he could hardly pass up an opportunity to learn more; the kitchen hardly ever made dishes that originated outside of Fodlan. The pantry could wait, he had to find the source of that delicious smell!

Ashe scurried and climbed through the tunnels until he reached the spot where he could slip through a small hole in the wall and out onto the top of his usual cabinet. He extinguished his small flame, stepping out of the wall, then laid down and scooted close enough to the edge so he could see most of the room.

When Ashe caught sight of the human cooking, he almost forgot about his original goal. He was wearing a student uniform, but he was huge! He didn't know that student humans came in sizes that big. It seemed like his original assumption was right though, because the student had dark skin and white hair cut short, definitely different than any Fodlan born human he'd seen working in the kitchens. 

It looked like he was preparing a stew with meat in it. Those were always harder to adapt due to borrowers not having access to the same kind of meats, but he was sure he could get around that with a little experimenting. He'd have to get a closer look though, because he couldn't see all the ingredients from here. Luck favored him when the student frowned at the ingredients he had available, and then turned and started walking to the pantry. 

_'Now's my chance!'_ Ashe thought, as he scrambled to get out his climbing gear. If he lowered himself down the gap between the back of the cabinet and the wall, and did it close enough to the edge, he could get onto the counter and take a quick look at what ingredients he was using and make it back to his rope before the student came back. 

Once he made it onto the counter, he ran over as fast as he could and started identifying ingredients. One container definitely held garlic powder, and the next held thyme, and that had a small bundle or rosemary next to it. He couldn't identify the next one just based off of smell and appearance, and had to look at the label on the container. Cumin? That was one the pantry didn't stock as often as the others, so borrowing it maybe be a bit trickier. The meat also smelled more like chicken now that he thought of it, so another bird would probably be a good substitute...

A loud creak startled him, and he whirled around to see that the doorway to the pantry was starting to open.

Ashe turned on his heal and ran for the nearest cover. He bumped into the garlic in his haste, but didn't slow down until he dove behind a drying rack. He heard the door open the rest of the way, then close again. Footsteps rang out in the quiet of the kitchen, getting progressively louder, until Ashe could feel the vibration of them through the counter top. He stayed as still as he could, and hoped that the human would go back for something else. But he heard and felt things being picked up and put back down, and the sound of utensils scraping together. Clearly the human was back to work. 

_'Dang it, I thought I'd have more time.'_ Ashe bemoaned. Now he'd have to stay here until the human needed something else or was done, and who knew how long that would take. He thought about trying to get another glimpse at what the human was making, but he was already paying for his earlier risk. Taking another wouldn't be a great idea. _'At least I get to enjoy the smell a while longer.'_

The human was making new noises now, confused ones. Maybe something had gone wrong with the food, since it kinda sounded like the hum Ashe made made when a cooking experiment didn't turn out, though he was pretty sure he'd never done it so loudly. 

Ashe felt something then, almost like a change in air pressure. His mind had no time to interpret its meaning before the drying rack was suddenly pulled away, and he was sitting out in the open, with no cover, and the human leaning over him. 

Ashe's mind went completely blank. Like every lesson he'd ever been taught about what to do if you were spotted fell out of his head, and wouldn't come back no matter how desperately he grasped at them. 

Run. That was the first option that came back to him. But as he stared wide eyed up at the stern faced human, he found he couldn't get his muscles to cooperate. They had gone stiff and refused to move. 

Talk, was the second one. He knew the humans had stories about them, and that he was supposed to lean into them if he was caught. There were phrases that he'd been taught to use, he'd had to memorize and recite them before being allowed to go out on missions. But of course, the one time he actually needed them, they wouldn't come to him. 

“My apologies.” 

The human's words rumbled through the air around him, and Ashe's mouth fell open. “W-what?”

The human straightened up so he was no longer looming, which should have been a relief, but he still flinched when the stillness broke. _'Oh sure, now you decide to move. Stupid muscles.'_

“You have my apologies. I've clearly startled you.”

“Oh, um, thank you.” Ashe floundered. Humans never reacted this calmly in the stories. “Uh, can I ask, how did you know I was here?”

The human pointed to of the containers. Ashe stared at it, not sure what the human was getting at, but then it clicked. That was the one he'd bumped into as he was running away. He looked down at himself, and saw that there was garlic powder sticking to his sleeve, pants, and shoes. 

_'I didn't realize the box was so full, I must have tracked it all the way over here.'_ he thought is dismay.

“I didn't realize- I should be the sorry one then. I messed up your work space. That's most unbecoming of someone like me.” he said, finally thinking to try and work in the human stories. _'But wait, would he even know those stories if he's not from Fodlan?'_

The student shook his head. “It's alright. The mess is very minor. I only looked into it because I feared that it was a sign of mice or rats.”

“So, you aren't angry?”

“I am not.”

Ashe would never have been able to tell by the boy's impassive face, but his deep voice sounded sincere enough that Ashe started to relax. 

“That's good to know. Just so you know, you shouldn't have to worry about mice in here. Between us and the cats, most wild rodents don't last long.”

“I see.” The human nodded. The two looked at each other in silence. 

“Well, uh, I should probably get going. I wasn't supposed to be out like this.” Ashe said, standing up. 

“Why were you then?”

Ashe stiffened. He really shouldn't talk anymore than he already had, but what if not answering made the human mad? He hadn't been before, but humans were unpredictable. His parents always said so. Still, it wasn't like telling him would endanger anyone, Ashe was the only borrower a human could conceivably lure out of the walls with this particular bait. 

“I was curious about your cooking.” he admitted. 

“My cooking?” the confusion in the human's voice was the first real inflection the borrower had heard from him. 

“Yes. It smelled wonderful, like nothing I've ever smelled here at the monastery. I wanted to know more about how it was made, to know why it smelled so good.”

“I see...Thank you. However, I fear just watching may mislead you. This is a dish made by people native to Duscur, so I do not have all of the right ingredients to make it here.”

Ashe's face split into a grin. “That makes it even more amazing! Trying to reproduce a recipe without the proper ingredients can be difficult, after all.”

The human's eyes widened, and he started down at Ashe. The boy's face fell, and fidgeted uncomfortably. “Did I say something wrong?” 

“No, I am merely surprised. Most people in Fodlan react with disgust to anything that is from Duscur.”

“Really? That's a shame. If what you are making tastes as good as it smells then they're really missing out.” Ashe frowned. “I wish I could try it, but I really should go...”

“If you have a pressing matter to attend to, then certainly. But if you do not, I would not mind if you stayed.”

Ashe's eyes flickered briefly to the kitchen door. “I don't want to be seen by anymore humans.”

The human looked to the door, then back at Ashe. Then he slid the drying rack back into place, hiding the borrower from view once again. “Now you will not be.”

Once Ashe's heart had settled a bit, he crouched down so he would be better hidden, then peaked around the edge of the rack. From this angle, he could see the human work, but no human entering the room would be able to see him right away. Ashe watched the human work in silence for a few minutes. 

“Little one.”

Ashe jumped when the human suddenly spoke and ducked back. _'I didn't hear anyone else come in...wait, he was talking to me wasn't he?'_

“Ashe. My name is Ashe.”

“I am Dedue.” The man replied, not looking away from his cooking. “You didn't seem disturbed when I mentioned this is from Duscur. I am clearly from Duscur as well, and yet you stay to watch me. Why is that?”

“I don't really know what Duscur has to do anything. I know that something bad happened between them and the Kingdom a few years ago, but not the details. We try not to get overly involved with human affairs, it usually doesn't end well for us.”

“That is understandable.” Dedue nodded gravely. “But that makes it all the more curious as to why you would stay after being caught.”

“Well, I figure if you were interested in trying to hurt me, you would have done it after you first found me instead of waiting. Plus, the food smells really good.”

The corners of Dedue's mouth lifted slightly. “In that case, would you like to taste test?”

“I would love to!” Ashe said eagerly. He straightened up and took a couple steps forward, then stopped. It was one thing to talk to a human from across the counter and behind something; it felt like an entirely different matter to willingly walk up to one. Despite what he'd said earlier, being without shelter in front of a human made his muscles clench and stomach churn with anxiety. 

Thankfully, Ashe was spared from having to go any further. Dedue opened up a cupboard and took out a small saucer, which he spooned some of the dish onto and slid over to Ashe. 

“Thanks!” Ashe knelt down, his body sagging in gratitude and relief. He picked up a piece of meat and bit into it, and suddenly he was melting for entirely different reasons. “It's delicious! What is the original dish called? What all did you use to make it?” he asked between bites. 

Before Dedue could answer, the door creaked. 

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

The little one dropped the food in his hands and bolted back to the dish rack the moment the sound was heard. Dedue moved to stand in front of it, further shielding the boy. 

“Oh, Dedue there you are.” Mercedes stood in the doorway. “Are you still working on it? This is the time you said to come by, isn't it?”

“It is. I've just finished.” 

“Wonderful! I'll help you bring it out.” She started to walk forward. 

“No.” 

It came out more forcefully than he intended, and Mercedes stopped and looked at him in surprise. 

“I made this for you, so I'll serve it to you. Please, wait for me in the dining hall.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded. 

“Alright, if you insist. I'm just so excited to try it!” Mercedes smiled at him and walked back out. Once she was gone, Dedue turned back. Ashe was out of sight, thankfully. 

“She's gone.”

No response. Dedue frowned, and pulled the rack away from the wall slightly. The little one wasn't there. A scraping sound made him look up, and his eyes caught movement at the top of a cabinet to his left. A tiny head appeared just over the edge of the cabinet, and a thin arm waved at him before both disappeared. 

As he prepared bowls for himself and Mercedes, he thought about the unexpected encounter. Fodlan was certainly a strange place. Ashe did remind him of something, a story His Highness once told him. Perhaps His Highness would be willing to tell it again, so Dedue could get a clue as to how he might see the little one again. 

He never got a chance to tell him the recipe after all.


End file.
